The Film Experience™ was created by Nathaniel R. All material herein is written by our team. (This site is not for profit but for an expression of love for cinema & adjacent artforms.)
The review was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad. It is reprinted here with their permission.
How does one act a hoarse voice? Short of screaming all night into your pillow before a key scene, as I’ve heard some actors do to simulate it, it’s not something that’s all that fakeable. This kept coming to mind watching Meryl Streep in Ricki and The Flash. Ricki Randazzo, her new aging rocker alter ego, sings/screams her lungs out all night with the house band of her local dive bar and works a demeaning low wage job all day. She doesn’t take care of herself. Ricki’s voice is hoarse for the entire movie. After admiring Streep’s dedication to nailing a character you might want to say a silent prayer or offer a symbolic lozenge for her vocal chords if they did in fact receive torturous screaming abuse behind the scenes in order to sound just this way. What did they ever do to deserve this?
Whatever it was, the sacrifice was worth it, having given us Ricki...
[Editors Note: In the neverending soap opera of Nathaniel's lifelong on again/off again romance with Meryl Streep, they are in love again at the moment. Just thought you'd like to know.]
Everything about this clip is promising. Streep's raspy voice, that low-key estranged but still domestic comfort vibe, the fluffy dogs, it's matter-of-fact history "...a long time ago". People didn't seem thrilled by the trailer to Ricki and The Flash but but with Jonathan Demme behind the camera and behind the script, there will surely be moments to savor regardless of whatever it does or doesn't amount to as a film.
Jenny Lewis wrote original songs for the film including this one. Do we have our first Oscar contender in that category? (I updated that speculative chart to include this tune as well as the two Southpaw songs by Eminem.)
Before we get to the trailer, quick uncensored thoughts as they come to me regarding the poster and some new images so it's several posts in one after the jump...
Team Experience is counting down our 15 most anticipated. Margaret with our runner-up...
Rick Springfield & Meryl Streep. Will they make lovely music together?
Who & What: Oscar-winning director Jonathan Demme teams up with Oscar-winning screenwriter Diablo Cody for a dramedy starring Oscar-winning(-and-winning-and-winning) actress Meryl Streep. The story is about a woman who left her family behind to realize her dreams of rock'n'roll stardom, and returns years later to try and make things right with them. The script has been described as funny and touching, and the supporting cast includes Kevin Kline (Sophie's Choice reunion!) and her daughter Mamie Gummer (Heartburn reunion!). If you listen really close, you can hear the sound of the HFPA penciling this onto their 2016 ballots for the Best Musical or Comedy Golden Globe.
Why we're excited about it: First of all, who among us can say they don't want to see Meryl "Greatest Living Actress™" Streep all tatted up, strutting around in leather pants and combat boots while shredding on an electric guitar? And given the creative talents involved, the potential for this is sky-high. Both Jonathan Demme and Diablo Cody may have some misses in their filmography, but Demme is on an upswing following actressy gem Rachel Getting Marriedand if there's a chance that Diablo Cody has written a lead character half as excellent as Mavis Gary in 2011's Young Adult I will be camping out in front of my local multiplex from right this second until opening night. Plus 'musician neglects family, becomes rock star' is a kind of story that's almost always told about men, and has been at least a dozen times in the past decade. Points for freshness!
What if it all goes wrong?: The last time Meryl worked with Jonathan Demme, it was on The Manchurian Candidate, one of her worst performances to date. There's also the omnipresent danger of Meryl fatigue.
When: August 7, in that dependable spot where Streep vehicles have had so much counter-programming box office success.
First image of Meryl Streep as a rock star in Jonathan Demme's Ricki & The Flash via People magazine. Very Melissa Etheridge. (Is it just me or is Meryl getting younger?) So excited for this movie. Demme is always at his best when he focuses on actresses (Married to the Mob, Rachel Getting Married, Silence of the Lambs) and who doesn't love to hear La Streep sing?
Uh oh... I feel a list coming on
10 greatest silver screen uses of Meryl's astounding pipes... 01. "You Don't Know Me" - as Suzanne Vale in Postcards from the Edge (1990) 02. "He's Me Pal" - as Helen Archer in Ironweed (1987) 03. "Stay With Me" - as The Witch in Into the Woods (2014) 04. "I See Me" - as Madeleine Ashton in Death Becomes Her (1992) 05. "Amazing Grace" - as Karen Silkwood in Silkwood (1983) 06. "My Minnesota Home" - as Yolanda Johnson in Prairie Home Companion (2006) 07. "I'm Checkin' Out" - as Suzanne Vale in Postcards from the Edge (1990) 08. "The Winner Takes It All" - as Donna in Mamma Mia (2008) 09. "The Last Midnight" - as The Witch in Into the Woods (2014) 10. "Goodbye to My Mama" - as Yolanda Johnson in Prairie Home Companion (2006)
Meryl was singing before she ever hit the movies... here she is on stage in her Drama Desk nominated Broadway role in 1976's "Secret Service" the year before her first movie came out (Julia).
Heartily agree with Louis Virtel that she should have released an album by now. I mean, come on. I'd be fine with "Meryl's Greatest Hits" so I didn't have to build my own playlist. How reinforced are her shelves at home do you think what with the 3 Oscars, 8 Golden Globes, 8 People's Choice Awards, 2 Emmys, 2 SAGs, 2 BAFTAs, 2 Critics Choice, 1 Cesar, 1 Theater World, and multiple festival and critics prizes (though those are often less statues than scrolls or certificates or whatnot)? Despite being an awards & nominations magnet she hasn't had much luck with theater or music trophies so she hasn't made any progress on her EGOT since her Oscar win for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) which followed her Emmy win for Holocaust (1978). She's received four Grammy nominations (all for Children's records) and 1 Tony nomination (and multiple Drama Desk nominations) but no wins from those.
Friday, August 7, 2015 at 9:00PM 
The review was originally published in Nathaniel's column at Towleroad. It is reprinted here with their permission.
